Mail-bag fastening.



m7795471 PATENTES C. B. STEVENS. MAIL BAG FASTEMNG.

APPLIATOH FILED JULY 22,1904.

y aa/z; 93%

UNITED STATES Patented January 10, 1905.

CHARLES B. STEVENS, OF OUMBEREAND, OHIO.

MAIL-BAG FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 779,747, dated January 10, 1905.

Application flled July 22,1904. Serial No. 217,723.

To a/ZZ whom, t puny concern:

provements in Mail-Bag Fastenings, of which the following is a specification. This invention relates to mail-bag fastenlngs, and especially to that class of fastenings in which the fastening is eiiiected by threading a strap through staples'.

The object of the invention is to provide means whereby the strap may be easily and accurately threaded through the staples and is securely held in Aplace after it has been so threaded.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a face view of a mail sack or bag provided with a fastening means embodying this invention, the strap being shown as partially threaded through the staples. tion on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the threading-key. Fig. t is a view of the back side of the strap, showing' metal plates secured thereto whereby crimping of the strap laterally is prevented. Fig. isasection similar toFig. 2, showingamodified form; and Fig. 6 is a side view, partially in section, of the strap shown in Fig. 5 with a modified form of threading-key secured thereto.

In the accompanying drawings the mailbag comprises front and back portions A and B. To one of the sides B is secured aflap O, which is adapted to fold over the other side of the bag A, as shown in Fig. 2. To one side B of the bag are lsecured staples D by riveting in any suitable manner. In the other side A of the bag and in the flap O are slots through which the staples D may pass. A strap E, which may be secured to the bagin any suitable manner so that its presence will always be assured, may be threaded through the staples D, which project through the slots in the bag and Hap, and thereby secure the closing of the mouth of the bag. The strap may be locked in the staples by means of a padlock or other suitable device in a wellknown manner.

Fig. 2 is a sec- A The device thus far described is well known. The threading of thestrap, however, through the staples has been attended with considerable difficulty, as the threading has been effected by pushing upon the strap, which was liable to catch against the staples and buckle, thereby causing delay and annoyance. According to the present invention it is proposed that the strap shall be drawn through the staples instead of pushed, and in order that this may be accomplished readily a keyhole F is formed in the strap and a key G, adapted to engage with the keyhole, provides a means for accomplishing the desired result. As the key projects outwardly from the strap, it is obvious that it will catch against the ordinary form of staple-that is, one which is completely inclosed-and vthe progress of the strap would be thereby arrested. According to the present invention, therefore, what may be termed open staples are employed-- that is, staples which have openings 1, through which the shank of the key may pass.

Referring to Figs. l, 2, 3, and 4, which which is then secured to the end of the strap,-

or it may beformed by making the recess within the material of the strap and facing it with metal plates 4 and 5, to the former of which the lugs 3 are secured. The preferred form of key (see Fig. 3) comprises a plate of such width that there is a slight clearance between its edges and the edges of the recess when it is placed therein and is of such length that it maybe slid longitudinally beneath and out from under the lugs 3. Fixed to the plate 6 is an outwardly-projecting L-shaped flat handle 7, having a hole 8 in its end, by means of which the key may be placed on a key-ring or secured in any other suitable manner when it is not in use.

The operation of the device is as follows:

IOO

end of the strap is introduced within the lefthand staple (see Fig. l) of the alined row of staples, the key Gr having been previously inserted in the keyhole F by placing the plate 6 within the recess 2 at that point which has no lugs and drawing it forward beneath the lugs 3. The handle 7 may then be grasped and drawn to the right, when the strap will be drawn with it. In its passage from left to right the shank of the key will register with and pass through the openings l of the staples, so that a` clear path is provided. Preferably the end of the strap is made tapering, as shown, so that the liability of its catching upon the staples is reduced to a minimum. rl`he strap having been threaded through the staples, the key may be removed by sliding it backward froni under the lugs 3, and the strap may be secured in position. The openings l should be made as narrow as possible consistent with the free passage of the key-shank, so that the danger of the strap escaping therethrough may be as small as possible. To prevent the strap from being moved through these openings by crimping it laterally', as might be done where the strap is fiat and thin, as shown in Figs. l and 2, the strap may be reinforced by means of metal plates 9, which are longitudinally separated, so that longitudinal flexure is permitted while lateral iexurc is prevented.

In Figs. 5 and 6 is shown a modified form comprising a strap having one side curved, while the other side is flat. This shape of the strap prevents lateral flexure without the aid of reinforcing-plates. 1t is preferably fiat on one side, so that it may engage with the staples in such manner as to prevent twisting. The end of the strap is also made tapering in this form, while the keyholeF is merely a metal-faced recess, and the key Gr comprises a shank having a hook at one end for engaging in said recess.

While I have illustrated my invention in its preferred form and also in a modification thereof, it is to be understood that it may be embodied in a variety of structures and should not, therefore, be limited to the construction or constructions shown.

Having described my invention, what I claim isl. rlhe combination with a mail-bag of a row of open staples secured to said bag adjacent to the mouth thereof, a strap, having a keyhole formed therein, adapted to be threaded through said staples, and a threading-key adapted to engage the said strap within said keyhole, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a mail-bag, of a row of open staples secured to said bag and adjacent to the mouth thereof, a strap adapted to be threaded through said staples, said strap having a keyhole, and a threading-key having an outwardly-extending shank registering with the openings in said staples, substantially as described.

3. rlhe combination withamail-bag, ofarow of open staples secured to said bag and adjacent to the mouth thereof, a strap adapted to be threaded through said staples, said strap having a keyhole comprising a recess having inwardly-projecting lugs beneath which said key slides, said lugs extending but a portion of the length of said recess, and a threadingkey engaging within said keyhole, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a mail-bag, of a row of open staples secured to said bag and adjacent the mouth thereof, a strap adapted to be threaded through said staples, said strap having a keyhole comprising a recess having inwardly-projecting lugs, and a key having a plate sliding within said recess beneath said lug's and an outwardly-extending shank fixed to said plate and registering with the openings in said staples, substantially as described.

5. The combination withamail-bag, of arow of open'staples secured to said bag and adjacent to the mouth thereof, a strap adapted to be threaded through said staples, said strap having a keyhole comprising a recess having inwardly-projecting lugs, and a key having a plate sliding within said recess beneath said lugs and a fiat L-shaped shank fixed to said plate and registering with the openings in said staples, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a mail-bag, of a row of open staples secured to said bag and adiacent to the mouth thereof, a strap adapted to be threaded through said staples, said strap having' a keyhole adapted to pass beneath the openings in said staples as said strap is threaded through thein, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof l have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

OHARLES B. STEVENS.

Witnesses:

J. A. WATSON, H. M. GILLuAN, Jr.

IOO

IOS 

